Mani Monday: Seeing Double

I will be one of the first to admit that there's a lack of fly nail joints in New Jersey. Can we get it together, people?

I simply have no alternative but to DIY my own designs - as every time I go to my friendly neighborhood nail spa, they give me strange looks when I ask them to do simple designs. Even asking them to paint one nail a different color is like asking them to carry my first born. It's uncomfortable, to be honest... so I rather just do it myself. 

And although this mani isn't the most creative, it's one of my favorites! I love the mixture of contrasting colors that compliment each other. I'll end up doing this a lot this summer, as painting my nails two colors like this gives me more to play with in terms of my manis matching my outfits. Simple and effective. I think so!

For this duo, I used Color Club's Disco Nap, which came with my Gossip Girl themed Birchbox for May, and Essie's Flirt. Love the metallic/coral combo!

DIY Nail Art: Animal Instincts

Who doesn't love getting packages in the mail?! When I received a box of goodies from one of my favorite bloggers and nail art enthusiast, Adiel of It's Because I Think Too Much, to say I was giddy is an understatement!

Among the reds and pinks she sent me were two colors that I immediately knew I was going to use to create something bright with: a creamy sea foam green from Forever 21's love & beauty line and a mauve pink from Opi.

I loved the colors so much, I whipped up some DIY animal print just so I can have a little bit of each in my nail designs.

The initial coats of my DIY nail art in progress.

The finished product! Black was used to outline the animal spots.

The "Who hires movers anymore?!?!" Manicure

The lovely Jasmine of WebHauteJas.com is my go-to nail guru for fly mani advice. Check out her guest post while I get my move on, and don't forget to visit her blog for more amazing DIY nail art, fashion and more!

When Jen mentioned via Twitter last week that she was about to begin the arduous task of moving, naturally my first thought was.... *gasp* "What about her nails!"...Shallow & self-centered?? Maybe. A reason for chipped polish?? Never. 

So, I wanted to lend a hand to my cyber chica to make sure her mani stayed in tact during this daunting task.

The gel manicure... Natures answer to chipped polish! Yes, that's correct..."nature". LOL.

But why spend time & money at the salon when, you can DIY!... So I skipped on down to Ulta Beauty Store to purchase a quick and easy alternative.

Nutra Nail Gel comes in 12 gorg colors & will only run you about $12 for the base coat & color, whereas professional gel systems are about $14 for each bottle of polish. And let's face it... you really should be a pro to apply those & have the UV light, blah, blah, blah...

So, here is the final result with a lil embellishment to boot! I think you will agree that you wouldn't mind packing a few boxes & then going out for drinks afterward... That is if you had any energy left!!

Happy moving to the new "House Of Jeffers", Jen... :)

Mani Monday: Marble Nail Art

Marbling your nails can give you some killer nail art... but, it takes patience. The good thing: Different results every time so your nails will have a uniform, yet, variant look. The bad: Prepping can be time consuming (drying time takes at least 15 mins in my experience.) However, it does look dope when you're done.

What you need: 

1 plastic cup with room temperature water

Toothpick or wooden nail pick

Tape - I prefer Scotch 

Nail polish - as many colors as you choose

Before you marble, you'll need to tape up. Place a piece of tape below the cuticle and around the edge of your nail, covering any exposed skin. This keeps your finger clean from excess paint that you WILL get on your finger. You will need to touch up with nail polish remover... but tape will save you time.

To prepare your marble art, drop each nail polish color one at a time. The first color will start to disperse in the water, followed by the next creating a bulls-eye. This is exactly what you want. Drop each color quickly, at least twice for each polish. The polish dries on the surface of the water so you'll need to start marbleizing the colors with your toothpick/nail pick by drawing lines in the polish to create a marble look.

When you run your tool through the water, you'll be creating a marble effect, like so!

Next, dip your finger in the water and hold it there. Use your toothpick to remove any nail polish floating around your finger.

Remove your finger and your done! Wait 15 mins before applying the topcoat and removing the tape. You may have some water on your nail so let it dry completely or else you'll smear your topcoat with the nail polish you've just marbled.

For a better tutorial (not my own), check out some nifty YouTube videos from MySimpleLittlePleasures!